SVS or something else (1 Viewer)

[Dave Moritz]

Hey Alan,

Thats a good one, ROFL But I copied it from someone else here at the forum actually. I reall cant wait to watch HD movies at home and am trying to hold out for Blu-ray. Hopefully we won't be disapointed once it arrives on retail shelves :- )

 

[John Garcia]

Yes, I was very impressed with the PB-10, it is a solid "little" sub (smallest SVS at the moment). I got good extension with output not dropping off until 16Hz in room. The new sub is a 15" Tempest cylinder tuned to 17Hz - a bit larger than a SVS 16-46 at 48" tall and 18" in diameter.

 

[AlanZ]

John: How big was the room again? I think I remember you saying in the past that it was somwhere around the same size as mine (~16x25), but I don't remember your ceiling height and whether there were openings to adjacent areas. I think it was one of your posts around Christmas time when you had a movie on for the kids and you were impressed by how the bass sounded (??)

Dave: I was excited about the new high def players, but when I came to to realization that I didn't necessarily need to upgrade my pre/pro in order to take advantage of the new DD/DTS formats I got even more excited I'm leaning toward Blu-ray myself, as I don't really need it to play CDs. I had planned to use my Denon 2900 as a transport and add an outboard DAC anyway, so HD-DVDs ability to play CDs isn't really a selling point with me. I just hope this stuff has more success than DVD-A and SACD have had thus far!

 

[John Garcia]

My room is 19x20 with high vaulted ceiling and open to the kitchen, so pretty big - just a bit too big for the PB-10, but it still did a comendably good job in a room that size. A buddy of mine recently got a 20-39 Plus and I was very impressed with that guy.

 

[AlanZ]

Cool, you have a fair bit more space to fill than I do, then. I'm torn whether to get another PB-10 or move back up into a cylinder. I REALLY like the PB-10 with music, but now that I've upgraded to speakers that hit low enough (for me) with regard to music, I'll only be using my sub for HT. I can't really corner load two PB-10s, but I could put one in each front corner of the room....or I could just get a plus or ultra and call it a day.

 

[Tom Vodhanel]

Hi Alan,

Adding a second PB10 and placing it in an adjacent corner(to the first subwoofer) will give you about 4 to 4.5dB more headroom. Going with a PC+ over the PB10 will be about the same. Going to a PB12-plus/2 will give you a 7.5 to 10dB jump I'd guess. (or about the same as three PB10s, and two PC+ subs.

You don't want to "over-upgrade"(spend needlessly)...but you don't want to make a smaller upgrade now...only to feel the need to upgrade again in a few months either.

Tom V.
SVS

 

[AlanZ]

Hey Tom!

Thanks, I appreciate the feedback! I think I've upgraded most everything in my system over the past 8-10 months EXCEPT my subwoofer....You guys made the PB-10 so damn good that I've had that upgrade on the back burner, even though I fully expected to have been in a PC Ultra by now I honestly figured you guys were just wanting to represent at the $400 price point....I had no idea it was this good when I bought it. Even when I had some Magnepan MMGs in here - speakers that are known to be very difficult with regard to integrating a sub - this little guy did a fantastic job.

By the way, among my main speakers, my amplifier, and my subwoofer, I departed from manufacturers I absolutely loved - and even felt a sense of loyalty to - in two of the three areas. Maggies gave way to DeVore Fidelity Super 8s and Outlaw gave way to a Butler Audio 5150. I point this out because I'm very appreciative that SVS offers such an absurdly good product that I can upgrade through you guys and not feel as though I would have to compromise in some way in order to remain an SVS customer. As with the other two companies, if I felt something appealed to me even a LITTLE more, that's the direction I would go. But whether I need a sub for my modest Paradigm system of four years ago, or something to blend with my current system, I know you guys have me covered

 

[frank manrique]

That midbass "punch" is actually bloated bass--false "low end"--and has little to do with accurate low frequency bass reproduction...

-THTS

"...hi, my name is Frank...and am an SVS bassaholic..."

 

[Reginald Trent]

If you find this to be true...Why not get the 20-39 to insure having the ablility to reproduce the lowest frequencies between the two SVS subs?

 

[Ryan Schnacke]

"That midbass "punch" is actually bloated bass--false "low end"--and has little to do with accurate low frequency bass reproduction..."

Well, when it comes to most of the lower end store-bought subs I agree. They can be bloated in the mid-bass. And this is what these guys are usually coming from. But really, I think its all relative. I've seen enough recommendations for adding a house curve onto your EQ'd room response - and this coming from some of the most well known and respected members here. Yet a "house curve" doesn't enhance accurate frequency response. Its all about tailoring your system to sound right to you. So if you want to dial in a typical house curve ... more power to you. You could equally dial in some mid-bass punch with some EQ.

My point is that I never hear SVS owners complain about low end response - regardless of which sub they chose. But I do occaisonally hear that they'd like a little more punch. So the 25-31 tuned subs are a pretty safe bet for somebody who's not ready to take the full plunge into equalizing his room response.

"If you find this to be true...Why not get the 20-39 to insure having the ablility to reproduce the lowest frequencies between the two SVS subs? "

Not sure what you mean. The 25-31 met all of the goals I talked about. Plus it was the cheapest ... another bonus. The 20-39 would have been a compromise in terms of size (WAF), cost and SPL in the audible range. In any case I'm not in the market for a new sub. Just sharing my experience.

 

[John Garcia]

To be honest, roughly the same space is taken up by the 25-31, 20-39 and basically the 16-46 also. The only difference is about 7-8" and having seen the 25-31 and 20-39, I can't say the difference in size made a huge difference visually to me. The 25-31 is a safe bet for sure, but the 20-39 isn't a poor choice either.

 

[TimJC]

To follow up on what Ryan is saying, I'm one of those SVS guys who is annoyingly happy with his PC Ultra. What that thing does with the low end is almost not believable.

Anyway, I too was interested in more snap/punch, whatever you want to call it. Then, I actually plotted my freq response and found nearly 20db of room gain from 80-20hz.

Through selective use of a fairly broad low end cut with the onboard PEQ, and additional EQ with an ART 351, my frequency response is now +/- 1db from 90-63hz, then rises smoothly 7db in a house curve from 63-25hz where it levels out again. In smoothing it all out and getting the low end under control, I got all the punch one would want. Kick drums and walking bass lines have taken on a whole new meaning. All the details in gereral are just greatly enhanced.

Before anyone starts looking to upgrade/change your hardware, or thinks of throwing stones at other manufacturers, look at calibrating what you have. You'll likely be very pleased with the results.

... my $0.02


Tim

 

[Reginald Trent]

My point is...the 25-31 CANNOT reproduce every frequency that a 20-39 can. But the 20-39 CAN reproduce every frequency that a 25-31 can and more.

 

[Ryan Schnacke]

"My point is...the 25-31 CANNOT reproduce every frequency that a 20-39 can. But the 20-39 CAN reproduce every frequency that a 25-31 can and more."

This is certainly true. But I thought I explained that I was happy with the extension of the 25-31 and that the extra SPL was more important given my open floorplan home. Of course I fretted over which to buy, like many other SVS buyers, wondering if giving up that little bit of low end would ruin the sound. But now I can say it wasn't worth worrying about and in fact the 25-31 is actually the most desirable of the 3 for some folks in some situations.

 

[AlanZ]

Ryan, I'm definitely one of those people. UPS messed up the grill on my 25-31 PCi when I bought it, and since it was going back to SVS I just went ahead and switched to the 20-39. It seemed like the better thing to do since it was a happy medium between extension and output, and it was a GREAT sub, but I preferred the little guy and wish I'd have just stuck with that one. I've posted it a few times on here, but the first flick we popped in after getting the 25-31 was Blade II.....if you haven't watched it with an SVS, you're missing a LOT of the experience. My (ex) wife and I just stared at each other in disbelief....it was truly shocking going from a Paradigm PDR-10 to the SVS. This was in a pretty good sized room, too.....it was basically a 15x30 room with another room the same size on the other side of it. The sub was positioned at the opening between the rooms, so it really had a lot of space to fill. Even so, it pressurized the room to the point where it really was quite amazing. You can't go wrong with any of the SVS products, but my favorite is definitely the little 25-31.

 

[Reginald Trent]

I guess I'll mention that I own a 16-46PCI and a PB12-ISD and I prefer the 16-46 it can pressurize and shake the room in a way that the PB12-ISD cannot. BTW the PB12-ISD is actually a 25-31PCI in box form.

 

[Tom Vodhanel]

Hi Tim,


>>>Through selective use of a fairly broad low end cut with the onboard PEQ, and additional EQ with an ART 351, my frequency response is now +/- 1db from 90-63hz, then rises smoothly 7db in a house curve from 63-25hz where it levels out again. In smoothing it all out and getting the low end under control, I got all the punch one would want. Kick drums and walking bass lines have taken on a whole new meaning. All the details in gereral are just greatly enhanced.